The Emperor is a small man, clothed in
robes intentionally reminiscent of harmless ascetics on scores of worlds.
He walks with the aid of a gnarled walking stick. He appears old, fragile,
entirely incapable of running the most ruthless Empire in the history of the
galaxy. This appearance is one of the Emperor's many masterful deceptions.

Though he tries to maintain the deception
of frailty, he is never without a detachment of Imperial
Royal Guards. They may not always be
visible, but rest assured they are not far away.

The Emperor's genius and strength with the
Force give him unique insight into the governed species. He knows that the
Old Republic was as much a symbol as a reality to many, just as he knows that
the Jedi Knights were the remaining untarnished incarnation of the symbol.
Working as he had in the Senate, he carefully cultivated the destruction of the
Jedi. With the Jedi gone, all pretense for restoring the Republic was
abandoned. The Emperor's true ambition has finally been revealed - to be
sole master of more than a thousand worlds.

Under his guidance, the Empire continues
to grow in power, despite the momentary setback suffered at the Battle of Yavin.